Swarm

Garos circled a thousand meters above, his dragon eyes fixed on the Rock-Crushing Worm below.

Through the Life Level Detection Technique, Garos had already determined that the Rock-Crushing Worm was a level-seven lifeform, the same level as himself.

The Life Level Detection Technique—this was a Spell-like Ability he had awakened a year ago.

Dragonkin were apex magical creatures and natural sorcerers. As they aged, they naturally mastered many bloodline-derived arts.

Such arts differed from spells. Their power and effects were weaker, but they could be cast instantly, so they were also known as Spell-like Abilities.

The Life Level Detection Technique was one of them.

Under normal circumstances, Hatchling Dragons had not yet reached the age at which they could awaken and master Spell-like Abilities.

Thanks to Adaptive Evolution, it was not only Garos's physique that had developed rapidly; he had also mastered some Spell-like Abilities ahead of time.

"At the same level as me, I should be able to take it down safely."

Life Level was only a reference. Many creatures could fight above their level, and Dragonkin were among the best at it. Garos was cautious and steady by nature. For now, he did not consider hunting creatures above his level and instead chose the Rock-Crushing Worm as a target of equal rank.

Garos restrained his Dragon Might and beat his wings with the smallest possible movements as he gradually approached his target from above.

Rock-Crushing Worms sensed the location of living creatures through vibrations.

A breeze swept past. The Rock-Crushing Worm, which had been basking in the sun, suddenly raised its head alertly. Its two nearly invisible, mung-bean-sized eyes blinked.

Powerful beasts and monsters were everywhere in the Wilderness, along with hunting parties formed by intelligent clans.

Hunting and being hunted were the eternal, unchanging theme here.

The Rock-Crushing Worm was a powerful hunter, but that did not mean it could not become prey.

A hundred meters in the air.

The instant he saw the Rock-Crushing Worm react strangely, Garos narrowed his eyes. His wingspan, over twelve meters wide, abruptly spread open and beat fiercely, carrying a gale with them.

The Hatchling Dragon turned into a black-and-crimson meteor. As he dived, the edges of his wing membranes sliced through the air, nearly throwing sparks.

By the time the Rock-Crushing Worm reacted, the shadow of a Dragonkin had already covered its body.

Without slowing in the slightest, Garos plunged to the ground with enormous force, using his own body as a weapon as he smashed into the Rock-Crushing Worm.

The instant its iron-hard carapace came into contact with Garos's body—

Under the tremendous impact, the black shell shattered like an eggshell, while the flesh beneath was crushed directly into pulp.

Boom! Amid an earthshaking crash like an earthquake, the rock slab splintered into countless stones that rose into the air with dust.

The Rock-Crushing Worm was a formidable beast even among level-seven lifeforms.

Yet after being struck by the Hatchling Dragon's falling impact, its body was split directly into two from the middle.

As some of the Buffer Scales on Garos's body fell away, he suffered almost no damage from the fall.

Woooo!

In agonizing pain, the Rock-Crushing Worm let out a howl like a gale passing through a canyon.

Insectoid creatures possessed tenacious vitality. It did not die. Instead, as if in a final burst before death, it erupted with immense strength. Its upper body rolled about furiously, flinging the Hatchling Dragon toward a sharp stone spike.

The stone spike failed to pierce his dragon scales and was instead crushed apart.

The Buffer Scales on his back absorbed the impact the instant they struck the rock and generated a rebounding force.

Garos shot toward the Rock-Crushing Worm once more at an even faster speed.

The Rock-Crushing Worm was trying to flee now. The sharp teeth in its mouthparts spun as they gnawed through the ground, and nearly half its body had already burrowed underground.

Even if it only had its upper half left.

With the Rock-Crushing Worm's regenerative ability, it could gradually recover completely.

Sensing the vibrations from the dragon's body rubbing through the air, the carapace on the part of the Rock-Crushing Worm still exposed aboveground suddenly swelled. High-temperature, high-pressure steam sprayed from the gaps.

A strong sulfur smell rushed into his nostrils.

This steam carried both fire and water damage. It was the Rock-Crushing Worm's life-saving skill, and its power was considerable.

Garos closed his eyes and charged straight through. With his powerful physique, he passed through the billowing steam, tore open the worm's shell again with one claw, and embedded it deep in the Rock-Crushing Worm's flesh.

Whoosh!

His powerful wings beat, lifting his body into the air. He yanked the Rock-Crushing Worm's upper half completely out of the ground, then swung its body in a wide arc and smashed it against the surrounding rocks again and again.

The repeated bang bang bang of impacts continued for several seconds.

With a sweep of his dragon wings, he scattered the surrounding dust.

Garos released his claw. The Rock-Crushing Worm had gone completely silent, much of its carapace shattered and its flesh mangled beyond recognition.

"I used too much force."

"A Rock-Crushing Worm at the same level seems completely unable to resist my strength."

Garos clenched and unclenched his dragon claws, feeling the pain in his body rapidly fade as he silently thought to himself.

The fire damage from the Rock-Crushing Worm's final blast of high-temperature steam was basically immune to Garos. As for the water damage, it should have caused him some trouble, but he had adapted through targeted training, so the minor injuries it inflicted were insignificant.

"My forcing myself to train in water despite my aversion to it was effective."

"Though I can't measure it precisely, my resistance to water damage has definitely improved."

He turned to look at the worm's corpse.

Garos walked over and peeled open its shell with his claws, revealing the flesh within.

Unlike its ferocious appearance, the Rock-Crushing Worm's meat was pale, tender, and extremely appetizing to look at. It also tasted wonderful—cool, smooth, delicate, and sweet, just like vanilla ice cream.

Not long afterward, after enjoying the spoils of his hunt.

Garos surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping across the abandoned mine pit.

Jagged rocks stood everywhere. Around the mine pit was a ring of steep, dangerous rock formations, while within lay an uneven expanse riddled with collapsed and abandoned mine tunnels.

Beating his wings, the Hatchling Dragon descended to the bottom of the mine pit.

Garos half-closed his eyes and quietly sensed the land beneath him. Before long, he felt a faint pull.

"There are still some remaining mineral veins underneath."

He fell into thought.

There were many abandoned mining sites like this in the Ser Wilderness, but few had been mined completely clean. More or less, some mineral veins would remain.

His gaze swept over the surrounding mine tunnels again, and Garos considered that this seemed like a fairly good place to live.

Not far from this abandoned mine pit was a patch of woodland with a lake inside it, as well as a considerable number of creatures similar to Grey Hyenas.

Water, prey, mineral resources.

With these elements, it counted as a good place.

"Once I leave the Iron Dragon Mother, I can claim this place first and make it my Dragon Lair, then consider other plans."

Garos thought to himself.

Suddenly.

The ground began to tremble slightly.

Garos's gaze sharpened. His wings beat, and with a whoosh, he shot straight into the sky, vanishing from where he stood.

Boom!

The rocky ground where he had just been standing shattered like fragile glass in an instant. A huge black shadow burst from the earth, launching itself hundreds of meters into the sky before falling back down.

His tense mind relaxed slightly.

Garos let out a breath and looked down.

In his field of view was an enormous Rock-Crushing Worm a full hundred meters long, coiled at the bottom of the abandoned mine pit. Its carapace gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the sunlight, and an oppressive presence washed over him.

Crack, crack, crack!

Amid sounds that made his teeth ache, the ground continually shattered as one Rock-Crushing Worm after another burst from the earth.

They were densely packed and numerous, their worm bodies rubbing and twisting around one another in a chilling sight.

"There's a Rock-Crushing Worm swarm, and a Worm King among them."

"This place is not meant for me for now."

"It seems finding a suitable territory to settle in won't be easy."

The Hatchling Dragon lamented inwardly. He dodged the Acid Rain the Rock-Crushing Worm King spat toward him, flew higher and higher, and left the area.